Hughton defends tactics after stalemate

Jan 31 2010 by Neil Farrington, Sunday Sun

CHRIS HUGHTON last night defended his safety-first tactics as Newcastle blew the chance to reopen a decisive gap between themselves and the Championship chasing pack.

But the United manager admitted he is still considering a swoop for a new striker – despite missing out on Crystal Palace youngster Victor Moses.

Hughton kept one man up front until midway through the second half at Leicester, despite the Foxes being down to 10 men from the 29th minute.

But the Newcastle boss, while admitting his frustration at his side’s failure to make good their man advantage, insisted his strategy was not to blame for the stalemate.

“With them down to 10 for so long, there’s disappointment that we didn’t capitalise,” confessed Hughton.

“I decided to make sure we were very solid through the middle of the park.

“And we had Kevin Nolan playing off the front man – a position where he’s scored a lot of goals this season.

“But they (Leicester) got more from each player with 10, and with the pace they’ve got up front were able to pose problems on the counter-attack.

“If we had got the early goal, things would have been easier, but the longer it goes on you know they are going to make it tougher.”

And Hughton paid tribute to the debut performance of on-loan teenager Patrick Van Aanholt, who grew ever more impressive during the 90 minutes.